The Customer Service approach to Social Media

There's an awful lot on the blogosphere about how brands should engage with social media. I thought I would share my view on a great aproach for brands and why it works so well. The approach is simple: Customer Service. Social media is a mass collection of communities. To be a valued member of a community you have to 'add-value' to the community. How can brands do this? Well customer service is one example. Solving customers' problems is a way of adding value to their lives and they will thank you for it. It's an opportunity to turn a negative situtation into a positive outcome. By solving customer problems brands can turn detractors into promotors, demonstrate their open and proactive approach to customer service and use it as a form of word of mouth marketing.

There are an increasing number of brands taking this customer service approach to social media. For example amongst others Twitter includes Carphone Warehouse @guyatcarphone, BT @BTCare and EasyJet @easyJetCare. We also use Twitter for Plebble through @Plebble_Advice, where we help consumers with their issues. People don't mind us contacting them, in fact they are genuinely grateful of our efforts to resolve their problem. So for any brands wondering how to engage in social media, customer service is a perfect start.

Interview with Plebble and the future of the online reputation industry

I've just been interviewed by the blog 'eBay, eCommerce, life' about Plebble and the future of the online reputation industry. The blog is written by Trevor Ginn. He is an eCommerce consultant at VendLab and also runs Hello Baby, his own online baby and nursery business. Hello Baby is also listed on Plebble.